The African American population has faced adversity in the United States in many ways since the arrival of their first known ancestors in Jamestown in 1619. This narrative of systemic oppression creates obstacles and challenges for this people group even today. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, the researcher, who has a long…

The problem investigated in this study was the lack of persistence of 1st-year African American male students at a community college in a southeastern state. In the fall of 2018, only 55% of African American male students progressed through their 1st year compared to 70% of White male students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore…

This dissertation examined factors affecting the college choice of African American male undergraduate students at two private liberal arts colleges in the South. The study explored African American male undergraduate students experiences, perceptions, and attitudes toward the college selection process, using Hossler and Gallagher (1987) College…

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate how African American male students persist through or depart before the end of the second year of their college journey. African American male students tend to drop out of college after their first year and sometimes after their first semester of college. There were several variables and themes…

Given the significant growth in the Latino population in the United States (U.S.), including within the Mexican subgroup, there has been a need for more research that examines the experiences of Latino students in higher education in the U.S. However, extant scholarship in this area has been largely centered on the community college and…

This critical phenomenological study aims to analyze the lived experiences of Latino male student affairs (SA) professionals considered early to mid-career at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Three research questions guide the study: 1) How do Latino male SA professionals in higher education describe their leadership experiences at PWIs?…

Black men suffer some of the most dismal completion rates in higher education due to the extremely hostile campus environments they experience at many institutions, particularly predominantly White institutions. Increased stereotypes, alienation, isolation, racialized incidents, and lack of support from peers, faculty, and administration can…

The purpose of this body of work was to examine barriers that lead to high school non-completion for African-American males and to propose strategies to better support this group. Specifically, it examined how African-American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-graduates. Across personal and environmental factors, this…

Promising Black males are an understudied and underserved population in the field of higher education. The purpose of this study was to understand how promising Black males define academic success and to identify the factors that affect academic success at a large predominately White public institutions of higher education located in the…

Many educators believe that the path to a better future is a college education. Initiatives that promote college-going cultures are quite commonplace in many public high schools with some offering elective college-prep support programs like Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Yet, certain groups of students are not taking advantage of…